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Space Technology Applications in Disaster Monitoring and Management in Bangladesh
Ahmed Sayeed
Principal Scientific Officer
A Z M Zahedul Isalam
Senior Scientific Officer
Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO)
Agargaon, Shere Bangla Nagar
Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh
Fax: 880-2-8113080
Email: sayeed@sparrso.org, admin@sparrso.org
Abstract
This paper describes the use of space technology and GIS technique in Disaster Monitoring and Management for sustainable development in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a densely populated country with a small area & limited natural resources. Moreover she often faces natural calamities & disasters such as, cyclones, storm surges, droughts, floods, etc. So the Government of Bangladesh in all her development efforts is giving emphasis on proper disaster monitoring and management and judicious utilization of all natural resources keeping proper balance of the ecosystem.
1. Introduction
For the monitoring & management of natural or man made disasters sequential information on the changes of nature and the environment is essential. Now a days space technology integrated with GIS has emerged as a most sophisticated information related technology & useful tool in the monitoring and management of environment and natural disaster and hence helps in taking proper measures for pre & post disaster management.
Application of remote sensing technology & GIS is gearing up rapidly in this country. Bangladesh Space Research And Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO) being the focal agency for all remote sensing and space activities has been utilizing the Space Technology and Geographic Information System (GIS) for various natural disaster management and environmental monitoring studies in different fields such as meteorology, agriculture, water resources, floods, forestry, fisheries, geology , oceanography, climate change, etc.
Severity of an event either natural or man-made that causes unbearable harm to the people and goes beyond their capacity to remedy the loss may be termed a disaster.
Disasters are of a wide variety depending on the location of a country on the globe. Cyclones, floods, droughts, earth quakes, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, landslides, erosions etc are among the important natural disasters while there are human induced epidemics like environmental degradation, diseases, war etc. Remote sensing owes much to the satellite technology due to its synoptic, repetitive and multi-spectral nature in observing the surface of the earth be it in connection with the resources or the disasters occurring any where on it. With the advent of satellites cloud movement and formation of cyclones can be monitored, floods can be mapped, agricultural crops can be estimated alongside assessment of damages. The resource survey satellites carry onboard sensors that are capable of providing information on every natural feature that prevails on the surface of the earth. The Geographical Information System (GIS) is another versatile tool added to the new technology which make the data acquired either through remote sensing satellites, aerial photographs or through physical surveys carried out for a purpose to be more useful to the decision makers and the planners. These technological provisions have made planning and development activities more handy towards achieving sustainable development and successful disaster management. Bangladesh, although a resourceful country, has been beset with various types of disasters because of its geographical location and other physical conditions.
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